Saginaw radio personality Dante Toussaint brings an era to a close

View full sizeDante Toussaint, a disc-jockey who just left KISS 107.1 WTLZ-FM, is heading to Florida. Toussaint, who has been the face of jazz in Saginaw since 1971, now does a jazz show on the internet.Jeff Schrier | Mlive.com

SAGINAW, MI - Dante Toussaint has left the building.

The iconic disc jockey who, along with Kermit Crockett, Tish O’Rea, Donnie Lyons, Don Wiggins and others defined black radio in Saginaw, in late December left WTLZ-FM,107.1, the NextMedia urban station once known as WWWS or W3Soul.

But even as he moves to Florida to live near his grown daughters, the Saginaw native still shares his love of jazz, hosting “Urban Jazz with Dante Toussaint” from 4 to 7 p.m. every Sunday online at 1067thebridge.com.

“I was frustrated,” said Toussaint, who only worked 10 hours a week when he decided to retire. “I knew I had to get out of this. I was through.”

Radio has changed since the 1964 Saginaw High graduate first went on the air at W3Soul in 1971, playing the soulful tunes listeners couldn’t find anywhere else.

“We were at South Washington and Federal back then, before we moved to the Bearinger Building,” he said. “We were part of the community. People would bring us home-cooked food during our broadcasts, or I’d put on some Isaac Hayes and go get some really good chili from the little bar next door.”

Crockett was the program director, Toussaint said, but the disc jockeys, broadcasting under names like Sweet Meat, Don Juan and Lolita, put their signature style on their shifts.

“No one did jazz like I did,” he remembered, smiling.

When they weren’t on the air, the disc jockeys were in the neighborhoods hosting health fairs and gospel fests and fundraisers and no one had to pay to have them stop by.

“We were always talking to the people,” Toussaint said. “Today, with large corporations owning most of the stations, it isn’t the same. You have someone in Atlanta coming up with the playlists or you’re going with national programs.

“The stations still hold events in the community but, with a few exceptions, you don’t have that same connection with the people.”

Today, at 66 years young, he appreciates the capability of being able to do his show from wherever he happens to be.

“I just enjoy doing it,” he said. “When I was 26, I had no intention of going into radio. I attended Delta College with Tom Knaub and Mike Avery and we were all going into TV. I had my chance but they told me I’d have to shave and cut my hair.